Day: May 7, 2017

France decided that having a far right, nationalistic, xenophobic, homophobic candidate is probably a bad idea in the 21st century. Macron won by a fairly big margin.

The pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron has won the French presidency with a decisive victory over the far-right Marine Le Pen that his supporters hailed as holding back the tide of populism.

Macron, 39, a former economy minister who ran as a “neither left nor right” independent promising to shake up the French political system, took 65.1% to Le Pen’s 34.9%, according to initial projections from early counts.

“A new chapter in our long history has opened this evening,” Macron said in a statement. “I would like it to be one of hope and of confidence rediscovered.”

Somebody wasn’t too happy about Stephen Fry’s interview (posted above). So there’s this all powerful being who lives in the sky, created the universe out of thin air, has complete control over anything, but needs help from the authorities when somebody hurts his feelings?

According to the Irish Independent the comment were originally reported to police in 2015. The complainant is said to have followed up last year, and to have received a phone call from a detective some weeks ago to discuss the case.

The paper quoted a source as saying a prosecution was unlikely.

Under Ireland’s 2009 Defamation Act, anyone “who publishes or utters blasphemous matter shall be guilty of an offence” and liable to a fine of up to €25,000 (£21,200).

A spokesman for Mr Fry told the Daily Telegraph there was “nothing for us to say while this is under investigation”.

Tweeting about the story, the British Humanist Association said: “What is the world coming to?”